Thesis--University of Michigan. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--University of Michigan. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctors in Education (D.Ed) in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015 / The purpose of this study was to introduce the concept of sustainability to medicinal plant sellers by a way of a non-formal environmental education programme. This was done for future generations to enjoy the benefits of medicinal plants whilst enhancing the livelihoods of medicinal plant sellers who depend on harvesting and selling these plants. Having realised that medicinal plant sellers were harvesting in an unsustainable manner, the researcher could not ignore this situation. There was a need to assist medicinal plant sellers to reflect on ways they conducted their businesses. The researcher deemed it necessary to alert the sellers to the necessity of harvesting plants wisely and consider future generations by taking preventive actions before many of the plants become extinct. The design of this study was a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. On one hand, the quantitative approach involved a survey using a semi-structured questionnaire, which was administered through face-to-face interviews. On the other hand, the qualitative method is by way of a case study in which data were collected through open-ended questions, focus group discussions and a workshop. The questionnaires were semi-structured. The research survey instrument served as the diagnostic tools to identify challenges that confronted the medicinal plant sellers. Information obtained through this instrument was explored in a workshop, which was designed to be an intervention programme. The programme engaged medicinal plant sellers and the researcher in discussions about sustainability of medicinal plants. The assessment of the intervention programme was carried out by means of site visit and open-ended interviews. Data were coded and grouped according to themes. They were interpreted, analysed, presented according to the set perspectives such as tabulation, graphing and direct citations from the respondents. iii The results showed that there were problems in the medicinal plant selling businesses, with regard to storing, marketing and conserving medicinal plants. Storage was problematic in the sense that some plants need to be dried out before being stored. During rainy seasons this was hard to be achieved since the drying out is done outdoors. Marketing was also problematic due to price competition among medicinal plant sellers. There was no uniformity in pricing. Another problem was lack of record keeping. There were no records of revenue and expenditure that would help determine profit margins if any. After exploring these issues in the workshop, the results from the assessment of the intervention programme showed that the medicinal plant sellers had revisited prices for their medicinal plants. Conservation was one of the areas that were explored as ways of sustaining medicinal plants. Among the conservation methods that were discussed in the study, cultivation of the medicinal plants was found to be a major challenge. The study revealed that in spite of the slow growth rates of medicinal plants, non-availability of land and irrigation problems posed as challenge of medicinal plant cultivation. The study intervened by engaging with medicinal plant sellers in discussions to start their own home gardens. The intervention programme had a way to supplying medicinal plant seedlings to the medicinal plant sellers. The sellers were also taught how to cultivate medicinal plants. The assessment of the study intervention also revealed that some of the medicinal plant sellers were not yet accustomed to methods of record keeping. Nevertheless, the intervention programme introduced methods of recording sales such as banking of revenue and keeping deposit slips. When the second phase of assessment programme was conducted, the medicinal plant sellers reported that they had adopted banking of their revenue. Banking could however; banking could not show all records, particularly expenditures. Although medicinal plant sellers were shown how to record expenditures and sales of the medicinal plant material, they had not practiced those recording techniques during the assessment of the workshop. Banking money by the medicinal plant sellers was, however, seen as a step further towards Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) of medicinal plant sellers. iv The study concludes by stating that issues of preservation and storage of medicinal plants by drying out in the sun, their packaging in plastic bags and reluctance to cultivate the plants by medicinal plants should be addressed by medicinal plant sellers. While the South African government is taking action to empower medicinal plant sellers about sustainability issues studies are required to engage communities to reflect and be actively involved in conservation of biodiversity such as medicinal plants through action research as means to sustain livelihoods of communities including medicinal plant sellers. In conclusion, the capacity building programme took place in a short time scale; based on the research findings the study makes recommendations to guide the education and sustainability of medicinal plants.

Orientadora: Karin Adriane Henschel Pobbe Ramos / Banca: Eliane Aparecida Galvão Ribeiro Ferreira / Banca: Ricardo Magalhães Bulhões / Resumo: A literatura apresenta profunda relevância para a formação integral do sujeito. Repensar e modificar a maneira de ler o texto literário contribui para a vida social e cognitiva do indivíduo, levando-o a desenvolver sua capacidade crítica e argumentativa e compreender o mundo em que vive. A leitura é uma atividade complexa que implica na produção de sentidos, mas o discurso que inflama de dentro das escolas é que os alunos não gostam e não leem. Sobre leitura é importante que os alunos leiam obras que atendem a indústria do entretenimento como também dos clássicos literários, ambas em "choque" no ambiente escolar. O propósito do estudo não se resume a atacar o cânone literário e supervalorizar a literatura de massa ou vice-versa e nem ratificar afirmações de que os alunos não leem ou estão distante de "bons livros", mas sim problematizar essa bipolarização - cânones versus best-sellers. O trabalho não apenas confirmou as leituras realizadas pelos alunos, mas constatou a presença e a comercialização de outra literatura (os best-sellers) que não somente os clássicos. Sobre a comercialização dentro das escolas dos livros para a massa esta se dá por meio da Revista Avon (Avon Moda & Casa), permitindo cunhar o neologismo "avonesca" para designar os livros comercializados e lidos por consumidores dessa linha de cosméticos. Para tanto, foi utilizado a pesquisa qualitativa de cunho etnográfico e revisão bibliográfica que serviram de base para compreender os fenômenos em "choque" ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The literature presents profound relevance to the integral formation of the subject. To rethink and modify the way of reading the literary text and contribute to the individual's social and cognitive life, leading him to develop his critical and argumentative capacity, to making him understand the world in which he lives. The literature is a complex activity that implies the production of meanings, but the inflammatory discourse within schools is that students do not like and do not read. About literature, it is important for the students to read works that serve the entertainment industry as well as literary classics, both in "shock" in the school environment. The purpose of the study is not simply to attack the literary canon and overestimate the mass literature or vice versa, nor to ratify affirmations that students do not read or are far from "good books", but rather to problematize this bipolarization - canons versus best-sellers. The work not only confirmed the readings made by students, but found the presence and commercialization of other literature (the best sellers) that not only the classics. On the marketing within the schools of the books for the mass this happens through Revista Avon (Avon Moda & Casa), allowing to coin the neologism "avonesca" to designate the books bought and read by consumers of this line of cosmetics. For that, it was used the qualitative research of ethnographic character and bibliographical revision that served as base to understand ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: Arnaldo Cortina / Resumo: A proposta inicial deste trabalho é investigar o fenômeno da leitura sob o ponto de vista do leitor, buscando os livros mais lidos. Partindo do pressuposto de que os livros mais vendidos são também os livros mais lidos, já que seria impossível determinar com exatidão o que os leitores mais lêem sem se valer do respaldo do mercado, pretende-se chegar aos livros campeões de venda, os chamados best-sellers. A definição do corpus da dissertação surgiu quando a revista semanal Veja trouxe em sua capa, de 12 de março de 2003, o sucesso de vendagem dos livros de Luís Fernando Veríssimo, destacando-o como o escritor mais lido no país. Despertada a curiosidade, o primeiro passo foi estabelecer exatamente qual foi a obra mais vendida do autor gaúcho. Para tal empreendimento, consultou-se uma coluna contida nessa mesma revista, a lista dos livros mais vendidos no mercado. Chegou-se, então, ao livro líder de vendagem: A mentiras que os homens contam. Contendo 40 crônicas, foram selecionados dessa obra dez textos para a constituição do corpus de análise. Definido o objeto, parte-se para o objetivo central do trabalho. É sabido que uma das leituras mais consumidas no mercado editorial tem sido os textos de humor. Valendo-se da semiótica greimasiana, como as nuanças da enunciação no processo de leitura, além de teorias que tratam do fenômeno do riso, o trabalho irá investigar como e por quais recursos o enunciador desses textos constrói o efeito risível. / Abstract: The proposal initial of this work is to investigate the phenomenon of the reading under the point of view of the reader, searching the read books more. Leaving of the estimated one of that the sold books more are also the read books more, since it would be impossible to determine with exactness what the reader ones more read without if being valid the support of the market, is intended to arrive at champion books of selling, the calls best-sellers. The definition of the corpus of the dissertation appeared when the weekly magazine Veja brought in its cover, of 12 of March of 2003, the success of sale of books of Luis Fernando Veríssimo, detaching it as the read writer more in the country. Awaked the curiosity, the first step was to establish which accurately was the sold workmanship more of the author gaucho. For such enterprise, a column contained in this was consulted same magazine, the list of sold books more in the market. It was arrived, then, to the leader book of sale: As mentiras que os homens contam. Contending 40 chronicles, had been selected of this workmanship ten texts for the constitution of the analysis corpus. Defined the object, it has been broken for the central objective of the work. It is known that one of the consumed readings more in the publishing market has been the mood texts. Using itself the greimasiana semiotics, as nuances of the enunciation in the reading process, beyond theories that deal with the phenomenon of the laugh, the work will go to investigate as and for which resources the enunciator of these texts constructs the laughable effect. / Mestre

No description available.

This study examines whether short-sellers and financial analysts develop complementary information about future earnings and returns and assesses whether investors can improve predictions made by each of these intermediaries using information provided by the other. The first main result is that the relative short interest ratio (shares sold short divided by total shares outstanding) contains information that is useful for predicting future earnings, beyond (i.e., incremental to) the information in analyst forecasts. I also find that analysts do not fully incorporate short interest information into their forecasts and demonstrate that analyst forecasts can be improved (i.e., can be made to be less biased and more accurate) by adjusting for short interest information. The second main result is that analyst forecast revisions contain information that is useful for predicting future abnormal returns, beyond the information in the relative short interest ratio. I demonstrate that portfolios of stocks formed based on consistent signals from short-sellers and analysts produce abnormal return spreads that are significantly larger than spreads produced by portfolios formed using signals from short-sellers alone. Collectively, the evidence suggests that short-sellers and analyst provide complementary information about future firm performance that is useful to investors.

This study examines whether short-sellers and financial analysts develop complementary information about future earnings and returns and assesses whether investors can improve predictions made by each of these intermediaries using information provided by the other. The first main result is that the relative short interest ratio (shares sold short divided by total shares outstanding) contains information that is useful for predicting future earnings, beyond (i.e., incremental to) the information in analyst forecasts. I also find that analysts do not fully incorporate short interest information into their forecasts and demonstrate that analyst forecasts can be improved (i.e., can be made to be less biased and more accurate) by adjusting for short interest information. The second main result is that analyst forecast revisions contain information that is useful for predicting future abnormal returns, beyond the information in the relative short interest ratio. I demonstrate that portfolios of stocks formed based on consistent signals from short-sellers and analysts produce abnormal return spreads that are significantly larger than spreads produced by portfolios formed using signals from short-sellers alone. Collectively, the evidence suggests that short-sellers and analyst provide complementary information about future firm performance that is useful to investors.

Texte remanié de: Diplomarbeit--Universität Wien, 2004. / Bibliogr. et ressources Internet p. 195-216. Notes bibliogr.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:17:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006-Michelle Gomes Barreto.pdf: 634856 bytes, checksum: 61550da2cbc0a0c4fbc8b6781fe93da0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-07-27 / It was performed a study comparative in the diagnostic of the canine distemper through techniques of Direct Immunofluorescence (IFD), Indirect Immunofluorescence (IFI) and Stain Sellers in samples of nervous tissue of dogs and wild animals that died with suspicion clinical of the viruse. Were utilized 118 samples of central nervous system (SNC) of domestic dogs and 3 wild animals, 2 skunks and 1 monkey, utilizing Ammon?s horn (CA), cerebellum (CB) and brain stem (TE). The TE was the region of larger percentage of positive, following of CA. The comparation between Stain Sellers and IFD, this last demonstrated a large sensitive. The IFI observed what to the realization of the technique was necessary the utilization of fresh materials. The utilization of the 117 samples in conditions of autolysis presented negative result. However 1 sample not autolysate, it was result positive in the 3 brain regions (CA, CB, TE). It was not possible the comparative with the technique of IFI, because in the work the technique alone was possible in materials conserved, with the advantage of a read more easy. In the work was detected also canine distemper in a skunk through technique of IFD. / Foi realizado um estudo comparativo do diagn?stico da cinomose pelas t?cnicas de Imunofluoresc?ncia Direta (IFD), Imunofluoresc?ncia Indireta (IFI) e Colora??o de Sellers em amostras de tecido nervoso de c?es e de animais silvestres que morreram com suspeita cl?nica da virose. Foram utilizados 118 amostras de Sistema nervoso central (SNC) de c?es dom?sticos e de 3 animais silvestres , dois gamb?s e um mico, utilizando-se Corno de Ammon (CA), Cerebelo (CB) e Tronco Encef?lico (TE). O TE foi ? regi?o de maior porcentagem de positivos, seguido do CA. A compara??o entre a Colora??o de Sellers, e a IFD, revelou uma maior sensibilidade nesta ?ltima. Na IFI, observamos que para a realiza??o da t?cnica torna-se necess?rio ? utiliza??o de material fresco. Tendo em vista a utiliza??o das 117 amostras em estado de aut?lise apresentaram resultados negativos e apenas 1 n?o autolisado, teve seu resultado positivo nas 3 regi?es cerebrais (CA, CB e TE). N?o foi poss?vel a compara??o com a t?cnica de IFI, porque nesse trabalho, a t?cnica s? foi poss?vel em materiais conservados, com a vantagem de uma leitura mais f?cil. Nesse trabalho foi detectado tamb?m cinomose em um gamb? pela t?cnica de IFD.